In 2015, record valuations drove a boom in mergers and acquisitions activity, leaving many to wonder when the deal bubble would burst. In 2015, US buyout firms paid an average of 10.3 times EBITDA compared with the previous record of an average 9.7 times multiple in 2007. Despite hitting a peak, valuations are still expected …
Category: M&A and External Growth
The LOI Audience: More than Just the Owner
Do you know who will read your letter of intent? Many assume that only the owner of the company you wish to purchase will read the LOI, but often there’s a wider audience. While the owner is your top priority, there are other likely readers of the LOI you need to consider: the board of …
What Is Synergy?
When speaking about mergers and acquisitions you often hear the word “synergy” used to explain the rationale of a deal. Here are just a few examples from recent headlines: “The Renault-Nissan carmaking alliance expects to generate 5.5 billion euros ($6 billion) of synergies in 2018.” “[Sysco] said it believed it could achieve $600 million in …
Is a Company Good or Bad? Evaluating Your Acquisition Prospects
How can you tell a good company from a bad company? A lot of CEOs say that they trust their gut when it comes to acquisition targets, but unfortunately instincts and opinions aren’t enough. We need facts and metrics. We need real tools to generate quantifiable data about the companies we’re considering. M&A is a massive …
10 Signs You Should Walk Away from a Deal
Do you know when to walk away from a transaction? After all that hard work putting together an acquisition —not to mention the costs in both time and money—it might seem unthinkable to give up on a deal. But you should be on the lookout for these 10 warning signs during the transaction process. They may …
Why You Shouldn’t Rely on Just the Internet for Information
In today’s internet age it seems like information is widely and almost instantaneously available. Just open up a web browser and type your search into Google and thousands of hits show up in less than a second. But how much of that information is accurate? Precise data is critical to every business decision, especially when …
What Does Credit Union Consolidation Mean for CUSOs?
It’s no surprise that credit union consolidation continues; it is estimated that there were 65% more mergers in 2015 than in 2000. Overall, there were about 15% fewer credit unions in 2015 than in 2011. While there are fewer players today than in previous years, the credit union market is not shrinking or in decline. …
Why Use a Nonbinding Letter of Intent?
There are many tools available to help move a transaction forward, ranging from a simple handshake agreement to a formal purchase agreement with contingencies. We have found one of the most useful tools for moving the M&A process along is the nonbinding letter of intent. To further understand the advantages of the nonbinding LOI, we’ve outlined …
CUSO M&A: Finding the Right Partner for Growth
Strategic mergers and acquisitions can be a powerful tool for growing your CUSO, but much of your success depends on finding the right partner. How can you identify the right partner for growth? The best way to begin your search is to identify the ideal markets in which to grow your organization. Once you have …
Mergers and Acquisitions: 2015 A Record Breaking Year
Despite record levels of activity, the current M&A market is still quite a bumpy ride for many. In 2015, deal value reached $2.3 trillion and 9,962 deals were announced in the U.S. Compared to 2014 numbers, we saw a very significant increase in deal value, while the number of deals was relatively flat (-1.6 percent). This …
